ReutersCyclone Chido has killed 94 people in Mozambique since it made landfall in the eastern African country last week, local authorities have announced.
The country’s National Institute of Risk and Disaster Management (INGD) said 768 people were injured and more than 622,000 people were affected in some way by the natural disaster.
Chido hit Mozambique on December 15, with wind speeds of 260 km/h (160 mph) and rainfall of 250 mm in the first 24 hours.
The same cyclone first caused extensive damage on the island of Mayotte in the French Indian Ocean, then Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe.
In Mozambique, the storm hit the northern province, which is regularly hit by cyclones. We reached Cabo Delgado first, then headed further inland to Niassa and Nampula.
The country’s INGD said the cyclone affected the education and health sectors. More than 109,793 students were affected and school infrastructure was severely damaged.
Around 52 sanitary facilities were damaged, making access to essential health services even more dangerous, INGD said. The situation is exacerbated in areas where access to health facilities was already limited before the cyclone.
Daniel Chapo, leader of Mozambique’s ruling party, told local media that the government was mobilizing support at “all levels” to fight the cyclone.
During a visit to Cabo Delgado, one of the worst-hit areas, on Sunday, Chapo said the government is working with INGD to ensure that affected people in Mekfi, Nampula, Memba and Niassa provinces can rebuild. He said they are working together.
Tens of thousands of people in Mayotte were shaken by the disaster as Chido became the worst storm to hit the archipelago in 90 years.
The Home Office confirmed in its latest update that 35 people had died.
Governor Mayotte previously told local media that the death toll could rise significantly once the full extent of the damage is known, adding that the death toll was “definitely in the hundreds” and could reach the thousands. I warned you that it’s sexual.
More than 1,300 police officers were deployed to assist local residents.
A week later, running water is slowly returning to the territory’s capital, although many residents still lack basic necessities. The ministry advises people to boil water for three minutes before drinking it.
The ministry said an empty bridge is being built between Mayotte, Réunion and mainland France, transporting around 100 tons of equipment every day.
Interior Minister Bruno Lutailot said in a statement on Friday that 80 tonnes of food and 50 tonnes of water were distributed across Mayotte that day.
Tropical cyclones are characterized by very high wind speeds, heavy rainfall, and storm surges, which are short-term sea level rises. This often causes widespread damage and flooding.
INGD said the cyclone “reiterates the vulnerability of social infrastructure to climate change and the need for resilient plans to mitigate future impacts.”
Due to the complexity of these storm systems, it can be difficult to assess the precise impact of climate change on individual tropical cyclones. But rising temperatures will affect these storms in measurable ways.
The United Nations climate agency, the IPCC, previously said there was “high confidence” that humans are contributing to increased precipitation associated with tropical cyclones, and that humans are contributing to the increased likelihood of further intensification of tropical cyclones. He said there was “moderate confidence” that it was contributing.
